The Phoenix Coyotes, officially, are getting their shot. They have five years to make it count.

The NHL's Board of Governors on Monday approved the team's sale to IceArizona, the group formerly known as Renaissance Sports and Entertainment, for $170 million. The biggest piece of the puzzle slid into place last month, when the City of Glendale—faced with serious financial problems of its own—approved a lease that pays IceArizona $15 million a year for 10 years to operate the city-owned Jobing.com Arena.

Part of that deal: IceArizona can move the team after five years if it loses $50 million. So, no matter what anyone says, this is not over. The point to the whole exercise, though, is that a major obstacle—or excuse for—the region's general disinterest in the team is gone. The Coyotes' attendance is annually among the league's worst, regardless of how good the on-ice product actually is. TV ratings are in the same boat. Corporate sponsorship lags behind.

For now, though, that doesn't matter.

"The National Hockey League believes in Arizona as an NHL market and that these new owners can provide the Coyotes the opportunity to secure a stable, long-term future in Glendale," commissioner Gary Bettman said in a released statement.

He went on to thank, among others, GM Don Maloney, coach Dave Tippett and captain Shane Doan "for consistently going ‘above and beyond’ on behalf of the franchise during this long and complex process."

Maloney, Tippett and Doan deserve credit; the fact that they all signed long-term deals despite the circus surrounding the franchise—Doan, remember, thought he was going to wind up playing for Greg Jamison—is admirable. So, sure. "Above and beyond." But the league, for better or worse, has done that, too. So has Glendale, which might be more attached to the arena development than the actual team.

And all the work, no matter how high above or how far beyond it goes, isn't going to matter if people won't bother to watch Doan and Mike Ribeiro and Mike Smith play over the next few years. If they don't, it should be over. For good.

After all, by then there could be arenas and fans and ownership groups in Seattle, Portland, Quebec City and Southern Ontario, at minimum. If all Arizona could offer, through all that, is two of those three, it'd be time to pull the plug with extreme prejudice.

Nobody's saying there aren't any Coyotes fans. If you're curious, read Five for Howling. They exist. There just might not not be enough of them—and sometimes, those are the breaks. Plenty of awesome bands have called it quits because they can't find a way to make money. It's reality, and it's harsh—sometimes not enough people love the things you love to make them financially viable.

Still, though, Monday is a good day, because it gives the Coyotes and their fans an honest opportunity—probably their first. The 10-person ownership group headed by George Gosbee and Anthony LeBlanc released their own statements.

“The Coyotes are here to stay and we will continue to work hard on and off the ice and have a strong presence in our community," LeBlanc said. "Our ultimate goal is to bring a Stanley Cup championship to our tremendously resilient, passionate and dedicated fan base here in the Valley. We have a lot of work to do and we can’t wait to get started.”